SOCW 6361 Wk 3 Housing First Policy Social Change Project In Part 3 of your ongoing Social Change Project assignment, you analyze the selected social polic

SOCW 6361 Wk 3 Housing First Policy Social Change Project In Part 3 of your ongoing Social Change Project assignment, you analyze the selected social policy.

BY DAY 7

Complete Part 3 of your Social Change Project.

Address the following items within a 2-3 page paper:

Evaluate the policy’s strengths and weaknesses. What is working? What is not working?
How will changing this policy affect clinical social workers or the clients of clinical social workers?
Provide an update on the advocacy activities your proposed in the Week 6 Assignment. Running Head: ENACTING POLICY
1
Enacting Policy
Shataybia Stanley
Walden University
SOCW 6361
Dr. Marson
4/5/2020
ENACTING POLICY
2
Enacting Policy
What is Homelessness?
Homelessness, as defined by Gabbard et al., is living in housing that does not have secure
tenure or housing that does not meet the minimum standard. Individuals can be said to be
homeless when they are moving between semi-permanent homes, such as homes of family and
friends; living on the streets; or living in homes that have no private bathrooms or secure tenure
(Gabbard et al., 2007). Most often, individuals who are homeless cannot purchase and maintain
stable, safe, adequate, and regular housing because of unsteady income or a lack of employment.
Thus, homelessness and poverty go hand in hand (Easey et al., 2016).
Synopsis
In the United States, the issue of homelessness began in 1870 (Kusmer, 2002); however,
homelessness rose drastically in the 1930s as a result of the economic depression. In the 1870s,
homelessness was viewed by many as a loss of character, as well as a moral crisis that had the
potential to destroy long-established notions of home life. In the 1930s, economic depression led
to poverty and homelessness throughout the United States. To handle the issue, the government
built temporary housing, and when the economy recovered, it began projects on affordable
housing. One of the projects it began is known as the Housing First model, which sought to
resolve homelessness, and prove that a significant proportion of homeless individuals, including
the most susceptible, can acquire housing so long as appropriate support is provided (Brown et
al., 2016). Additionally, the Housing First model provided connections and supportive services
to community-based supports that individuals needed to maintain their housing and avoid going
back to a homeless state.
ENACTING POLICY
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The History of Housing First
Housing First was established in 1992 by Dr. Sam Tsemberis. Initially, Housing First was
established with the primary purpose of helping individuals with mental health issues who had
no housing (Larimer et al., 2009). Originally, the target population entering Housing First
consisted of individuals with substance abuse and mental health issues, but later, it grew to
accommodate individuals at risk of homelessness, individuals making extended stays in
homeless shelters, and individuals released from prison (Larimer et al., 2009). With various
alterations to the model after its establishment, Housing First services can now be accessed by
families, as well as individuals who are homeless.
Housing First Policy to Change
The Housing First model has been effective throughout the years; however, some
changes to it can increase its benefits to America’s homeless. One of the biggest limitations of
Housing First is that it is inherently an emergency-level response; meaning, it only seeks to end
homelessness. This policy needs to change. Giving individuals free housing and support is a
beneficial policy, but we also need to work against poverty, the ever-growing income inequality,
and building more affordable housing. The specific action plans to take to effect these changes
include moving towards a system-level response and a preventative approach. These action plans
can help increase the number of employed and independent individuals and reduce the number of
individuals who need Housing First.
ENACTING POLICY
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Plan for Social Advocacy
To change the policy, two strategies need to be employed. The first strategy is a
preventive approach, which entails preventing individuals from becoming homeless to begin
with, and providing accommodation, housing, and supports as a way of moving individuals out
of homelessness (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 2019). The second approach involves
seeking additional system responses to homelessness. We need to coordinate governance
strategies, policies, and services as a means to end homelessness.
How Efforts will Address the Policy
Prevention strategies can contribute to the reduction of homelessness. Some efforts
towards prevention that can be employed include landlord mediation, eviction prevention, and
support for survivors of domestic violence. Since mass homelessness became an issue in the late
1870s, the United States government has used emergency services to manage homelessness. By
refusing to rely entirely on the Housing First policy and choosing to come up with solutions, we
can achieve the goal of ending chronic homelessness completely.
Efforts towards coordinating governance strategies, policies, and services can help end
homelessness. Because homeless is an issue that involves various agencies, sectors, and
institutions, we need a more integrated system response with regard to programs, policy, and
governance (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, 2019).
The above two efforts will address the Housing First policy because they seek to end the
widespread homelessness experienced in the United States by preventing homelessness entirely
and providing ongoing supports, as well as housing to move individuals out of homelessness.
ENACTING POLICY
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Is Continued Policy Advocacy Needed?
All individuals in contemporary society can benefit from Housing First. Despite this,
Housing First is especially beneficial for individuals who are marginalized, mentally ill, active
drug users, and individuals who have been living in poverty for an extended period. As such,
continued policy advocacy is needed. Because many individuals who are homeless have histories
of being sidelined or marginalized, they need continued support to help them maintain permanent
housing, which at times can be more than what Housing First can offer.
ENACTING POLICY
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References
Brown, M. M., Jason, L. A., Malone, D. K., Srebnik, D., & Sylla, L. (2016). Housing First as an
effective model for community stabilization among vulnerable individuals with chronic
and nonchronic homelessness histories. Journal of Community Psychology, 44(3), 384390.
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. (2019). Solutions: Supporting Communities to Prevent
and End Homelessness. Homelesshub. Retrieved 7 April from
https://homelesshub.ca/solutions/prevention
Easey, S., Every, D., Richardson, J., Krackowizer, A. (2016). “Climate change, housing and
homelessness: Report on the homelessness and climate change forum (why are climate
change and homelessness in the same category?)” Retrieved 7 April from
https://www.nccarf.edu.au/sites/default/files/Forum%20report%20on%20homelessness%
20and%20climate%20change%20final.pdf
Gabbard, W. J., Snyder, C. S., Lin, M. B., Chadha, J. H., May, J. D., & Jaggers, J. (2007).
Methodological issues in enumerating homeless individuals. Journal of Social Distress
and the Homeless, 16(2), 90-103.
Kusmer, K. L. (2002). Down & out, on the road: The homeless in American history. Oxford
University Press on Demand.
Larimer, M. E., Malone, D. K., Garner, M. D., Atkins, D. C., Burlingham, B., Lonczak, H. S., …
& Marlatt, G. A. (2009). Health care and public service use and costs before and after
provision of housing for chronically homeless persons with severe alcohol
problems. Jama, 301(13), 1349-1357.
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Running Header: Social Change Project on Homelessness
Shataybia Stanley
Social Change Project on Homelessness
Assignment 1
SOCW 6121
1
Social Change Project on Homelessness
Describe a current social problem.
Homelessness is a complex social problem with a variety of underlying economic
and social factors such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, uncertain physical and mental
health, addictions, and community and family breakdown
How might this problem be incongruent with social work values/ethics?
Social work values and ethics consider every human life worthy of usefulness and fundamental
human rights (NASW,2017). Housing and shelter are fundamental human rights that social work
values consider essential for the health of each person. Homelessness is incongruent with this
value of equity of accommodation.
How/when has Homelessness been identified historically, and what were the actions taken to
address this concern?
Homelessness is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary problem and is noted as one that psychology
can provide solutions for. It is also stated that understanding the behavioral health needs of the
homeless populations and creating interventions to address their needs is instrumental in
preventing and ending Homelessness (Jack at. el., 2017,pg.113). Subsequently the
deinstitutionalization that transpired in the 1960s where thousands of patients were shifted from
mental institutions to community based care, therefore, many individuals became homeless and
Social Change Project on Homelessness
marginalized. While the problem grew, Homelessness started to be acknowledged as a public
health problem that could be tackled with mental health and social services. The government also
began making communities conduct and report annual point-in-time (PIT) counts of homeless
people to follow the extent of the problem, that has continued to today. The current PIT count in
2016 uncovered that nearly 550,000 people were homeless on any given night, with 68% living
in sheltered locations and 32% in unsheltered locations (pg. 113). The vast majority of homeless
Americans are homeless for a short period. Still, statistic shows that about 22% are chronically
homeless which is federally described as being continuously homeless for at least one year or
being homeless four times or more in 3 years for an accumulative period of being homeless for at
least one year (Jack, 2017).
How have the groups affected by this concern changed over time?
Most research on Homelessness has concentrated on the significant number of homeless, single,
middle-aged men. However, there is an increasing study on the rising number of homeless
women and families that may have different needs. There has also been more considerable
attention on veteran homelessness. In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) embarked
on a multiyear federal initiative to avert and stop veteran Homelessness, and billions of dollars
have been invested toward that goal. Ever since that, there has been a 47% drop in veteran
homelessness per reports in PIT counts, and more than 30 communities and three states have
confirmed a functional end to veteran homelessness (Jack at. el. ,2017).
Describe the policy area related to this social problem.
Social Change Project on Homelessness
The Housing First (HF) model has to turn into the leading model for supported housing and has
been proven to be successful in reducing Homelessness in several randomized controlled trials.
Comprehensive primary care and behavioral health services have been combined into many
homeless clinics to focus on the complex needs of homeless populations (HVP,2006) The Housing
First approach is led by the idea that people need necessities such as food and a place to live before
attending to anything less critical, such as securing a job, maintaining a budget appropriately, or
attending to substance use issues. Furthermore, Housing First is established by the theory that client
choice is valuable in housing selection and supportive service participation and that implementing that
choice makes it possible for a client to be more successful in remaining housed and enhancing their life
(National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016).
When it comes to homeless veterans, Veterans Affairs policy is “Housing First,” as well. It’s an
evidence-based, low-barrier, supportive housing model that emphasizes permanent supportive
housing to end Homelessness. This Housing First method contributed to a 33 percent decline in
Homelessness among Veterans between 2010 and 2014, as determined during the yearly pointin-time counts (Kayne,2014). The housing first approach gives Veterans that are experiencing
Homelessness, particularly the ones that have been homeless for extended periods and have
mental health and addictive disorders with permanent housing without delay. There are no
requirements to obtain a house, and permanent housing is made available as the first service,
followed by other services, like healthcare and employment, centered on the Veteran’s needs and
preferences.
Social Change Project on Homelessness
What are the different aspects of the policy?
The Housing First model does not make people experiencing homelessness address all of their barriers,
including behavioral health problems, or to advance through a sequence of services programs before
accessing housing. Housing First does not require participation in services before obtaining housing or to
retain housing. The Housing First approach beliefs housing to be the foundation for life advancement
and allows access to permanent housing without requirements or conditions past those of an average
renter (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2016).
Who supports and who opposes the policy?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development supports the housing first approach through
two programs Supportive Housing Program and the Shelter Plus Program.
•
What changes/amendments have been made to the policy?
•
Explain how this policy affects clients you might see in a clinical setting and why, as a clinical
social worker, it would be important to advocate for change.
Reference
Social Change Project on Homelessness
Homeless Veterans Programs: Improved Communications and Follow-up Could Further Enhance the
Grant and Per Diem Program: GAO-06-859. (2006). GAO Reports, 1.
.Jack, T., Thomas, O., & Lisa K., K. (2017). Homelessness as a Public Mental Health and Social Problem:
New Knowledge and Solutions. Psychological Services, 2, 113. https://doiorg.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1037/ser0000164
National Alliance to End Homelessness (2016). Housing First. Retrieved from
www.endhomelessness.org/resources/housing-first/
Malveaux, J. (2019, Nov). Homelessness crisis – we are better than this. Washington Informer Retrieved
fromhttps://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocvi
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